http://mb.com.ph/articles/246019/pacquiao-elated-poll-ruling
Manny Pacquiao was hardly surprised when the voice on the other line assured him his candidacy for Congress has been upheld by the Commission of Elections (Comelec).
“I knew right from the start that my candidacy is legitimate and that I was able to fulfill all the requirements needed to make sure I won't be prevented from running for public office and serving my people in Mindanao,” Pacquiao told the Manila Bulletin from his Los Angeles home Wednesday afternoon.
Pacquiao is challenging businessman Roy Chiongbian, who comes from a family of famous politicians and business moguls, for the lone congressional seat in Sarangani province in the May 10, 2010 elections.
The Comelec earlier ruled that Pacquiao's educational attainment is not enough ground to disqualify him from running in the May 10 elections.
The Comelec Second Division said a candidate’s high educational attainment has never been held as qualification for public office.
“To be sure, the quality of public service which an elected official can render is not measured by the level of his intelligence,” read the Comelec decision junking the disqualification case filed by Atty. Elly Pamatong against Pacquiao.
Pamatong, in his petition, asked the Comelec to disqualify both Pacquiao and Senator Manuel “Lito” Lapid from running in the 2010 race, saying they are nuisance candidates.
Pamatong even opined that Pacquiao is hardly educated and has absolutely no knowledge in the field of law or lawmaking.
The most that Pacquiao could do in the Lower House, according to Pamatong, is sit down for three hours and listen to speeches he could hardly understand.
Still, the Comelec found Pamatong’s petition without merit even citing Section 6 of Article VI of the 1987 Constitution which is written below.
“No person shall be a member of the House of the Representatives unless he is a natural-born citizen of the Philippines and, on the day of the election, is at least twenty-five years of age, able to read and write, and except the partylist representatives, a registered voter in the district in which he shall be elected, a resident thereof for a period of not less than one year immediately preceding the day of the election,” read the resolution.
"Of course, I am relieved that the Comelec made the right decision," said Pacquiao, who is in the thick of training for the first defense of his World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight crown against Joshua Clottey of Ghana at Cowboys Stadium in Dallas.
The camp of Chiongbian had filed a protest with the Comelec, asking that Pacquiao, widely regarded as the No. 1 fighter in the world, be disqualified because of residency woes.
Chiongbian said Pacquiao is not a resident of Saranggani since he comes from neighboring General Santos City.
Pacquiao's wife Jinkee, however, is from Kiamba town in Sarangani, and Pacquiao said he was able to make a smooth transfer of residency since he knew way ahead that he would be running for Congress again
Manny Pacquiao was hardly surprised when the voice on the other line assured him his candidacy for Congress has been upheld by the Commission of Elections (Comelec).
“I knew right from the start that my candidacy is legitimate and that I was able to fulfill all the requirements needed to make sure I won't be prevented from running for public office and serving my people in Mindanao,” Pacquiao told the Manila Bulletin from his Los Angeles home Wednesday afternoon.
Pacquiao is challenging businessman Roy Chiongbian, who comes from a family of famous politicians and business moguls, for the lone congressional seat in Sarangani province in the May 10, 2010 elections.
The Comelec earlier ruled that Pacquiao's educational attainment is not enough ground to disqualify him from running in the May 10 elections.
The Comelec Second Division said a candidate’s high educational attainment has never been held as qualification for public office.
“To be sure, the quality of public service which an elected official can render is not measured by the level of his intelligence,” read the Comelec decision junking the disqualification case filed by Atty. Elly Pamatong against Pacquiao.
Pamatong, in his petition, asked the Comelec to disqualify both Pacquiao and Senator Manuel “Lito” Lapid from running in the 2010 race, saying they are nuisance candidates.
Pamatong even opined that Pacquiao is hardly educated and has absolutely no knowledge in the field of law or lawmaking.
The most that Pacquiao could do in the Lower House, according to Pamatong, is sit down for three hours and listen to speeches he could hardly understand.
Still, the Comelec found Pamatong’s petition without merit even citing Section 6 of Article VI of the 1987 Constitution which is written below.
“No person shall be a member of the House of the Representatives unless he is a natural-born citizen of the Philippines and, on the day of the election, is at least twenty-five years of age, able to read and write, and except the partylist representatives, a registered voter in the district in which he shall be elected, a resident thereof for a period of not less than one year immediately preceding the day of the election,” read the resolution.
"Of course, I am relieved that the Comelec made the right decision," said Pacquiao, who is in the thick of training for the first defense of his World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight crown against Joshua Clottey of Ghana at Cowboys Stadium in Dallas.
The camp of Chiongbian had filed a protest with the Comelec, asking that Pacquiao, widely regarded as the No. 1 fighter in the world, be disqualified because of residency woes.
Chiongbian said Pacquiao is not a resident of Saranggani since he comes from neighboring General Santos City.
Pacquiao's wife Jinkee, however, is from Kiamba town in Sarangani, and Pacquiao said he was able to make a smooth transfer of residency since he knew way ahead that he would be running for Congress again
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